Fish demand in UK exceeds annual supply

The level of fish consumption in Britain this year has already met annual supplies.

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The level of fish consumption in Britain this year has already met annual supplies, forcing the UK to rely on importing stocks for high demands on various foods.
Campaigners have warned that Britain’s fish consumption in 2012 has already matched what its surrounding sea can provide for the year, leaving the UK reliant on imported fishes like cod and haddock for popular dishes like fish and chips.
Yearly fish supplies from UK seas are only able to meet demands up to 233 days. If Britain were to rely on its own fisheries within the year, the country would run out of stocks instantly, a calculated report by the New Economics Foundation (NEF) confirmed.
The report said at least one in three fish consumed in the UK is imported from countries outside the European Union (EU). Britain is reliant on countries such as Iceland, Norway and even China to have a standard supply of fish.
The UK imports more than 101,000 tonnes of cod, worth £372m and 60,000 tonnes of haddock, worth £156m, in a year, most of which is imported from nations outside the EU, figures from 2010 showed.
But, the NEF suggests that the UK seas are not well managed enough to allow fish stocks to recover from overfishing, which is why it is not meeting the annual demand from its own waters.
BGH/MOL/HE